Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has done it again, making a game-changing donation of $15 million to the Fistula Foundation, a San Jose-based nonprofit on a mission to eradicate obstetric fistula, a condition that leaves women incontinent after childbirth.
Kate Grant, the CEO of the foundation, said the gift is the largest ever received by the foundation and will jumpstart its five-year strategic plan to raise $110 million and provide 80,000 surgeries to women suffering from obstetric fistula in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia — with an ultimate goal of ending fistula within a generation.
“I met my first fistula patient in 1994, and am as moved today as I was then by the suffering women with fistula endure before they have surgery,” Grant said. “The treatment is quite miraculous, giving them a new lease on life.”
The Fistula Foundation works with a team of partner hospitals in more than 20 countries, Grant said, and it aims to expand to additional countries. The foundation already had an ambitious plan to raise $15 million a year, and Scott’s gift will put them within $20 million of their goal in five years. Most of their current funding comes from individual donors, but Grant said they will be looking more at institutional funders and foundations.
“The Scott gift is a huge vote of confidence in us,” she said. Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, began giving away more than $4 billion to nonprofits in 2020, putting an emphasis on those that work on issues of racial and LGBTQ equality, climate change, democracy and women’s rights.
Now, the reason you may never have heard of obstetric fistulas is because they largely disappeared in the United States during the 20th century. But according to United Nations statistics, more than 2 million women live with them worldwide and nearly 100,000 more develop them annually — mostly in impoverished countries where women do not have access to care. Grant says the foundation’s goal is to make sure “no woman is left behind” and thinks it’s fitting that that women are driving this latest effort
“We do think this is big – a pioneering philanthropist helping a women led organization that benefits women,” she said this week. “I was playing Annie Lenox and Aretha Franklin singing ‘Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves’ for my team recently!”
TRIBUTES TO THE FALLEN: Memorial Day is Monday, and while many people will be firing up their backyard grills and enjoying a day off work, others will be remembering those who gave their lives in service to our country. Two of the biggest celebrations in the South Bay are taking place in San Jose and Campbell.
Oak Hill Memorial Park on Curtner Avenue in San Jose will host its annual ceremony beginning at 11 a.m., with a keynote address by Marine gunner Angelo Pasciuti, who has been on numerous combat deployments. The event — which also will include a display of classic cars and a flyover by the 129th Air Rescue Wing — will be preceded by a Japanese American Memorial Ceremony at 9 a.m. and followed by a Vietnam veterans’ Field of Honor service at 1:30 p.m.
The Campbell Veterans Memorial Foundation will host its event at 9 a.m. Monday at the Orchard City Green at City Hall. It will feature a keynote by Maj. Gen. Miles A. Davis, commanding general of the 63rd Readiness Division based out of Mountain View, and remarks by Campbell Mayor Anne Bybee. The foundation also will honor Ken Estep and his son, U.S. Army Sgt. Adam Estep, as its Co-Veterans of the Year. Ken Estep is a founding board member of the foundation; Adam served in Iraq but was killed in action in 2004.
SMILING SUCCESS: Silicon Valley Healthy Smiles, the Santa Clara County Dental Foundation’s volunteer dental clinic last weekend, was a big success in one respect — providing $1.4 million in services to 825 people at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.
Here are some statistics from the event: 582 teeth extracted, 100 complete and partial dentures fitted or repaired, 6,345 procedures — including fillings, extractions, cleanings and root canals. Santa Clara County Dental Foundation Executive Director Steve Beveridge said they’d like to make it an annual event, but that all depends on fundraising, the one statistic that wasn’t as successful. The event cost approximately $400,000 to stage, but fundraising fell short by $185,000.
“We cannot do this critical work without more support from Santa Clara County organizations and even individuals who want to be part of the effort for this extremely important event,” Beveridge said. If you’re interesting in donating to Silicon Valley Healthy Smiles, go to www.sccdf.org.
